The present invention relates generally to relieving and reapplying strain to a plurality of serially connected elements and, more particularly, to an electrical insulator change-out tool for use with electrical insulators in high tension lines.
High tension electrical lines are supported by and electrically insulated from towers through a plurality of electrical insulators connected in series. The electrical insulators in operation are under strain generated by the weight of the high tension lines. Replacement of a damaged electrical insulator in the series of insulators is a laborious process because tension must be taken off of the insulator or insulators before the insulator can be removed from the string and replaced with a new insulator.
A variety of tools have been described in the art to remove tension from a string of electrical insulators. See, for example, U.S. Pat. No. 1,997,109 issued to L. T. Fyfe for "Apparatus For Repairing String Insulators" and U.S. Pat. No. 4,760,640 issued to William G. Lawrence for "Insulator-Jack For Replacing Insulated Disks". The Fyfe and Lawrence devices are both cumbersome and awkward to use. In the case of Fyfe, separate clamping elements are threaded onto rods and then clamped around the porcelain portion of the electrical insulator. In the case of the Lawrence insulator-jack, the insulator clamping elements are permanently attached to L-shaped brackets that are secured to parallel threaded rods. In both the Fyfe and Lawrence devices, no provision is made for removing the end insulator from a string of electrical insulators.
It is, accordingly, a general object of the invention to provide an electrical insulator change-out tool.
It is a specific object of the invention to provide an electrical insulator change-out tool that accommodates a variety of electrical insulator configurations.
It is a further object of the invention to provide an electrical insulator change-out tool that can remove the end insulator from either the hot or cold ends of the insulator string.
It is a feature of the invention that the insulator change-out tool can be easily reconfigured to accommodate variations in the arrangement of electrical insulator strings.